Something is happening to me. Something has changed between my best friend and I. I feel different around her. My heart speeds up, my hands get sweaty, and my face feels like it's on fire, all of which have never happened to me. I mean, have you ever heard of a fire dragon slayer blushing? It just doesn't happen. She's all I can think about and she's all I dream about. I have a need to spend every second with her and every time she is hurt I can't breathe. She is beautiful and her chocolate brown eyes just make me melt. She has complete control over me and I would do almost anything she asked of me… Almost.

"Natsu, please, can't I sleep alone for just one night?"

"But Lucy, your bed is so much comfier and you're always cold so I can warm you up. It's a win-win."

"Yea, but the only guy who should ever be sleeping with me is my husband. And since I don't have one, no one should be sleeping with me."

"Is that all? Well then I'll be your husband."

"Natsu, I don't think you understand what that means…"

Lucy is blushing an adorable red and looks away. Before she does I see a flicker of something surprising in her eyes, disappointment. But she can't feel the same way about me. I mean, every time someone thinks were together she rushes to correct them and she blushes at any guy who compliments her, not just me. I'm her best friend and partner, nothing more.

"Lucy, I'm tired, can't I just sleep here tonight? Please?" I give her my best puppy dog look that always gets her to agree with me.

"Okay Natsu, but only for tonight. Get under the covers before I freeze to death."

"Yosh! Thanks a million Luce!" I climb into bed with her and immediately wrap my arms around her waist to pull her closer. I nuzzle my head into her hair and breathe in her intoxicating scent, vanilla and cherry blossoms. This is how I always sleep when I'm with her and when I'm with her, I sleep the best. I lay there as she falls asleep, looking so peaceful and serene. As I drift off, my last thought is of how she believes I have no idea what being her husband means. Well, I'll show her that I know exactly what that means. I fall asleep planning how to confess to her with a smile on my face.

"Natsu, wake up. It's time to go to the guild." I wake up suddenly and look around. Lucy is out of bed, looking at me with her hands on her hips.

"Lucy, five more minutes."

"If you don't get up Natsu, I'm just going to have to walk to the guild myself and go on a solo job." I spring out of bed. I refuse to let her go on a solo job because if something were to happen to her while I wasn't there, I'd blame myself. I'm not saying she isn't strong, because she is. I'm saying that I need to always be by her side to make sure she's always okay.

"Okay, I'm getting out of bed Luce. Did you need to go on a job to get rent money?"

"Yea, my rent is gonna be due soon so I figured we could go on a job today that way, if we only get half the reward like usual, I can still go on another mission to get all of my rent."

"This time I promise I won't destroy anything. And I know how you hold people to their promises so hold me to this one, ne?"

She looks at me astonished, shock plainly on her face.

"Natsu, are you feeling okay? You never promise to not destroy something." That is true. Usually I always need to destroy something but I don't want Lucy to get tired and then have to go on another job and get hurt because I couldn't help but destroy something.

"Yea, I'm okay Luce. You ready to go pick out a job? You can pick it out this time."

"Yea… okay Natsu." She looks at me as if I'm a stranger, I guess it's understandable. I've been acting different since I've woken up. Well, I guess since I saw future her die in front of me. We walk together to the guild and I go to the bar as Lucy goes to the request board. Grey walks up to me and sits down beside me.

"Hey Flame Brain, are we goin' on a job today?" I look at him for a split second and then return my gaze to Lucy.

"You can go on one with Juvia, I know you really want to go on a mission alone with her. Me and Luce are gonna go on a mission alone together, like the good ol'days."

"J—Juvia and I alone? You know I don't like her like that. She always creeps me out." I look at him and notice a slight blush covering his cheeks.

"Yea, that's why you're blushing and stuttering. Anyway, go with whoever you want, me and Luce are going alone." I look back to Lucy, it looks like she got a job and starts to head over.

"Come on Flame Brain, how 'bout if I beat you I get to go with you."

"As if you'd beat me, but I don't wanna fight." Grey looks incredulous.

"You don't want to fight?! Since when?"

"Since now. Hey Luce, did you find a job for us?" Lucy walks up and has a piece of paper in her hand.

"Yea, I got a great one. Look!"

"Wait," Grey says, "You let Lucy pick out a job? And you don't want to fight me? Who are you and what have you done with Natsu?"

"Natsu, you don't want to fight Grey? Why not?"

"I just wanna get going on the mission. What did you pick out?" Lucy looks at me and gives me a huge smile, the smile that she only gets when she is either planning something or when she knows I'll like something she's gonna do.

"It's a request that was an S-class quest but Master thought that we could handle it so he demoted it to a normal quest."

"That's awesome!"

"Yea, and it has a 5,000,000 Jewel reward. The job is to kill a monster that only comes out during the night and sets the village on fire. They think it may be a dragon." A dragon? It sounds possible. Dragons don't like being seen by many people so that could explain why it only comes out at night and if the buildings were set on fire, it would be a fire dragon. A fire dragon could know where Igneel is!

"Luce this is amazing! Is there anything that could make this better?"

"Well, if we manage to keep it from destroying the town, we get a perk for the reward which is a celestial key, so yes, it got better. This job was made for us." Lucy looks at me with sparking eyes and seems extremely happy. Grey looks at me and then Lucy and back to me again. His eyes widen in understanding.

"You guys have fun! Don't make me come save ya from a monster, ne?" Lucy looks up in surprise.

"Aren't you coming with us?"

"Nah, I think I'm gonna take Juvia on a mission. Hey Natsu, can I borrow Happy? I think Juvia may be too touchy if it's only us two." He looks down at me and I grin, he knows why I want only Luce and I to go. He is really a good friend. I'll have to do something for him, maybe I'll help him get together with Juvia.

"Yea that's fine, Happy is probably gonna want a lot of fish though."

"That's fine, just so I'm not alone with her." Lucy looks up and smiles.

"Ya ready to go Luce?"

"Yea, just let me pack, I'll meet you at the train station?"

"Yea, I'll meet you there in one hour." I head to my house, happy that I'll be able to spend time alone with Luce. We haven't ever been on a mission just us two. I hope I get the guts to confess to her and I hope she doesn't stop being friends with me. I'd just die if I couldn't be around her only because I confessed to her. I hope that she feels the same way, but who would like someone who always destroys stuff?

It was a surprise to me when I realized my feeling towards my blonde partner. Igneel talked about dragon's mates and how they mate for life. Dragons only feel love towards one person and that person is the one we'll spend the rest of our lives with. I hate that it took her dying for me to realize what I was feeling.

I get to my house and a great thought comes to me. Yea, I know, Natsu Dragneel thinking? But it is an awesome idea and I know Mira will help and make others help. I run back to the guild and look for Mira. I spot her behind the bar and rush to her.

"Hey Mira. Do you think that you could do me a favor?" She looks up surprised.

"Of course Natsu. What is the favor?" I look at her with a grin that would rival the Cheshire cat.

"Can you get a few of the guy to go over to my house while Luce and I are out on a mission and renovate to accommodate for Lucy? Like add another bed room, a study for her to write in, a library, and another bathroom with a giant tub? I'll pay for all the supplies." Mira looks like she's about to faint.

"O—of course Natsu. Are you planning to have her move in?" She looks like Christmas Day just came early and I smile.

"Yea, I'm gonna confess to her during this mission as well. I want all of her things moved to my place, I'll straighten up a little, and I want you to make sure no one goes through her stuff. Let those who help you know that she is my mate and anyone who disturbs her stuff has an angry dragon to look forward to."

"I'll make sure everything is taken care of Natsu, and ill straighten up for you. You have a mission to go on, actually, you should get going, it's almost time for you to pick up Lucy."

"Shit, thanks a lot Mira! I'll make sure to give you three babies!" I head to Lucy's house and jump through her window.

"Luce, are ya ready?" I look around and smile. I can't wait to live with her and this way I have no choice but to confess to her. I just hope she returns my feelings so the renovations done to my house don't go to waste. And so she doesn't get even more mad at me when she finds her furniture missing.

"Hey Natsu! Yea, I'm ready, I'm so excited to finish this job so I can get the new key. It must be something special based on the reward. I hope it's a Platinum Key. That's be amazing. Though, I hear that using a Platinum Key takes a lot of magic energy, so I'm not sure if I will be able to use it."

"Wait Luce. First off, what is a Platinum Key? Second, you're plenty strong. You have a rare type of magic and can also now call upon four of your golden keys at once. Everyone thought that even calling upon two was impossible. You are extremely strong Luce, don't ever doubt yourself."

"Thanks Natsu, and a Platinum Key is a type of gate key that is even rarer than the zodiac keys. There are only three in existence and once you call them forward, they can use their own magical power to come and fight for their master. The three platinum keys are Sirius the Black Wolf, Orion the Hunter, and Draco the Dragon." I freeze, there's a dragon constellation? It would be awesome to meet the dragon of the stars.

"Luce, it'd be awesome if the key was Draco. Them I could test my magic on him. Of course I wouldn't aim to kill him, just to see what kind of techniques would be effective on a real dragon."

"Natsu, honestly, I'm hoping that it is Draco. He may know where Igneel is and—" I look are her. She's blushing and is looking down at her feet. I wonder what she was about to say.

"Luce, what is it?" She looks up at me for a brief second before she looks to her clock.

"Shit! Natsu, we're gonna be late for the train if we don't run now!" I looked up and she's right. We leave in a sprint and barely make it to the train in time. I would have brought up the conversation again but as soon as we got in our seats, the train started moving and I couldn't for a coherent thought, let alone understand a full conversation. Though, Lucy has an amazing gift that helps me through my motion sickness. Once I lay my head on her lap and immerse myself with her scent, my nausea goes away. And as soon as she starts playing with my hair with her magical fingers, my dizziness fades away. I finally fall into a blissful sleep while the train is speeding towards our destination.

"Natsu, wake up, we made it to Renior City. We need to go see the person who requested the mission so we can get more information." I get up and look at Lucy. Her face is flushed, like she just woke up as well. I can't help but imagine what it'd be like if we slept together every night. Her head on my chest, her scent lulling me into a deep sleep: Heaven. Lucy and I start walking towards the inner city, where the guy who requested us is supposed to live. I'm zoning out when I notice her walking sluggishly and I'm instantly worried. What's wrong with her? Did something happen on the train? I inhale deeply to see if I smell any unfamiliar scents clinging to her just to make sure. I smell nothing but her intoxication scent and I'm relieved until I notice that she's about to pass out. I run towards her and catch her right before she hits the ground.

"Luce! What's wrong? Is everything okay? What happened?!"

"Na-Natsu… I feel extremely drained suddenly. Like my magic is completely gone. Why? I…" With that she fell asleep in my arms. I wonder why her magic is drained. I feel fine and my magic is completely charged. What's draining her power? I run to the requester's house and I'm greeted by a butler.

"I'm Natsu and this is Lucy, we're from Fairy Tail. I'd love to hear all the information you have on the monster but right now I'd like to make sure my partner is alright. Do you have a place that I can let her rest?'

"Of course Sir Natsu, right this way." The butler leads me down a hall way up some stairs and then into a cream colored bedroom.

"This is one of the Master's guest rooms. Your partner can take refuge here while she recuperates. Now if you'd please follow me I'd like take you to see the Master so you can start on ridding us of this monster immediately." I lay Lucy down on the bed and leave her a note that tells her where I am. Ii don't want her waking up in a strange place with no one familiar around. After that I follow Ian, the butler, to a study room filled with star charts and mapping tools.

"Ah, thank you Ian, you may go. You must be one of the mages here to kill the beast plaguing our city at night. I will tell you that the beast usually strikes the south west part of the city. It definitely is some sort of flame monster. We can tell because it destroys the buildings with purple flame. And, after each building is burnt to the ground, a strange mark is scorched into the ground. Now, I heard there was going to be two mages helping us, where is your friend?"

"She is here, though when we got into town, her magic got drained by an unknown source. She is up in one of your guest rooms resting until her magic is regained. Do you have any idea what could have caused her magic to be drained?" The Master of the house, whose name I found out to be Harrold, pondered the thought.

"Well, what type of magic does your friend use? If she uses Celestial Magic, then the key that I offered as a perk to the reward could be draining her power without either of them noticing. Though, if she is still okay in my manor, then she must have an incredible amount of magical energy. Once she gains enough energy, I'd like her to try to summon the spirit and form a contract with it, so it doesn't happen again. You can keep the key, if it is draining her then it is my fault so the key will be my apology."

"Really?! Luce will be so excited to try and summon the spirit. I don't wanna know which spirit it is until she knows though. Since she is the one that is going to make the contract, she should be the first to know who else is going to be added to her family. I'll go check on her now and get her so she can summon the spirit. Thanks!" I run back to the room that Lucy was sleeping in to find her sitting up in the bed, looking a lot better than she had been. Don't get me wrong, she always looks good, but before her nap, she looked sick. Her face was sunk in, her hair not shining anymore, and her eyes were dull.

"Hey Luce, how are ya feelin'? I got a surprise for you if your magic energy is restored."

"Natsu! What is it? And where are we? What happened to my magic energy? Did we make it to the requestor's house? Did you get more information on the monster? How long was I asleep for?"

"Whoa, slow down there Luce. I can tell you're feeling better based on your hundreds of questions. Yes, we are in the requestor's house, his name is Harrold. Yes, I got the information needed for the mission and we're about to go to find the monster. The surprise is the reason your magic energy was drained and no I won't tell you what it is. Just follow me." Lucy and I walk to the study and I hear her gasp. She looks around the study in wonder. I smile at her reaction.

"Hey Harrold, this is my partner, Lucy Heartfillia. Luce, this is Harrold. He is the one with the surprise for you. Take it away Harrold."

"Well Lucy, it is a pleasure to meet you. You see, the reason your magic energy was drained is my fault. The gate key I have here is very powerful and my guess is that it sucked away your power without noticing. As an apology, I'm giving you the gate key. It is one of the Platinum Keys. Let's see if you can guess which." Harrold handed a stunned Lucy a key that looked like mercury but was solid. It had a star on the holder's end and was emanating massive amounts of magical energy. Lucy looked in awe. She looked at me for reassurance and I nodded to her. I hear her take a deep breath, readying her magic power, and then she says,

"Open, gate of the Star Dragon, Draco!" I feel a huge surge of magical energy and see a bright light come into existence. She is concentrating so hard and looks so beautiful in the golden light of the magic energy. She finally lets her hand drop and looks up amazing. I look to where she's staring and I see a golden dragon where the light used to be. The dragon was small compared to other dragons, only about 10 feet tall and 7 feet wide. Its scales glowed like a new born star and had a few flecks of red and blue in them. I looked towards Lucy, she looked exhausted but extremely pleased with herself.

"Hello, I'm Lucy. I'm your celestial wizard and I'd love to make a contract with you if that's okay. I try to make sure all my spirits are happy and feel like a part of my family. I never break my contract specifications and if you need off suddenly I never mind. I understand you spirits have your own life and schedules. I hope that you'll agree to become one of my family members and a great friend." The great dragon looked at her curiously then scanned the room with his giant eyes. I looked at Lucy's hopeful gaze and decided that she deserved this spirit.

"Hey Draco! Lucy tends to sell herself short when talking about her connection to her spirits. She never says how much she puts into their happiness. She once called them all out at once and helped fulfill one of their wishes if it was in her power. She saved one of her most powerful spirits from death by getting an audience with the Celestial Spirit King and called you forward. If that doesn't grant her your contract, nothing will." The dragon looked at me with a gaze older than the oldest star and them the ground rumbled from him talking.

"Lucy, I have heard of you throughout the Spirit World as the one mage every spirit wants their key to go to. You are extremely kind and loving towards your spirits and as Natsu explained, you are extremely powerful. I want no one else to hold my key other than you." I grin at the kind words of the dragon. He reminds me of Igneel and I was just about to ask him if he knew where they went when Lucy beat me to it.

"Thanks Draco, I was wondering though, do you know what happened to the other dragons? Oh, and have you ever met a fire dragon named Igneel?" Draco looks stunned.

"Lucy, I thought you knew that the reason the dragons are no longer around as it is largely a part of your mother's death. She was the celestial wizard who kept the dragons here between their world and yours. Let me put it this way, dragons were not a part of this world originally. They belonged to the dragon realm, which they hated. Your mother came along and forged a key that opens a portal to the dragon realm and lets the dragons roam between the worlds. This key took much of her power, which was why she was so weak though out her life. Once she died, the portal closed between the worlds and the dragons were sucked back to the dragon realm. Before you ask, I do know where the key is and you do have enough power to open the gate, however, the strain you will be under will make you pass away before your time. You have more magical energy than she did, but it will not last forever. And, yes, I do know Igneel, so you must be his son, Natsu. I'm sure he misses you very much. Now, I must go back to the spirit world, but you may call on me at any time and I will come to your aid. I look forward to working with you Lucy." With that, Draco leaves with a golden flash. It is silent in the room. Lucy looks lost and confused but determined as well.

"No Lucy. You are not, and I repeat NOT going to hold open the door and risk your life to bring the dragons back to this world. I don't care if Igneel will not be here, you are not going to slowly drain your life to make others happy." She looks at me confused and shocked. I don't care how she feels, I refuse to lose her slowly and I refuse to let her kill herself to bring back the dragons. We've dealt without them for 14 years, we can deal without them forever. I won't let her die just to help us dragon slayers have their dragons back. I can't lose her. I refuse.

"Natsu, if this can bring back the dragons, it will make both them and their children happy. Who am I to stand in the way of happiness? I want them to be happy… I want you to be happy. This can help and if I am the only one who can bring them back, as my mother brought them here, then why shouldn't I? I owe it not only to you and the other dragon slayers, but to her. I want to finish what she started."

"No Lucy! You dying will not make the dragons or dragon slayers happy and it sure as hell won't make me happy. And I doubt your Mom would want you to die before your time. Don't put other's happiness before your life. Please… I couldn't function without you. Don't think about opening the gate. Please." She looks at me in silence. I just hope I convinced her. I know I couldn't live without her smile, her scent, her eyes, her laugh, I just couldn't live without her. Even if I could see Igneel for a minute again, that happiness would not be enough to keep me held over. I know that if Lucy were to die, I would have nothing else to live for, so I would die as well. I don't dwell on that fact, it just is.

"Natsu, how about I ask the other dragon slayers about it and see what they say. And who knows, I may be able to keep the gate open for a day every once in a while. I don't want you guys to never see your parents again and what's the point in having magic if I cannot help those closest to me?"

"Okay Luce, but I refuse to let you wither away. I will not watch you die. Now, since we know that the monster terrorizing this town isn't a dragon, let's go find out what it is so we can get our reward and head back to Fairy Tail." We walk to the South West part of the town and wait out the monster. I wonder what it could be. It may be a Wyvern and if that's the case, this will be a lot of fun. But, I can't forget my promise of not destroying the city. I look over to Lucy as we're waiting and I am speechless. She looks radiant. Her glowing hair cascading down her back in perfect layers, her eyes sparkling like a thousand suns, her clothes blowing in the wind. God, she's beautiful.

"Hey Luce… I have something to tell you." She looks at me questioning. Just as I was about to say what I've been feeling, a giant roar can be heard echoing throughout the city. Lucy and I both look up to see a wyvern flying into the city with flames shooting out of its mouth. I immediately eat the flames so the town isn't ruined and Lucy and I get to work. We have worked together for so long now, we can understand what we will do facing any kind of enemy. Usually, if it is a smaller enemy, I let Luce take care of it without letting her realize, I want her to get stronger so she is less likely to be hurt. Of course, I'm there just in case something goes wrong so I can keep her safe from harm. Though, with a larger enemy, I take it head on and she usually summons Leo or Taurus to help keep it distracted. Then, Lucy stays behind a rock or tree to keep safe. This is what we do now and I know that this fight will take a while to finish because as a fire dragon slayer, I can regain my energy by eating flames, so any fire the wyvern breathes I can eat to get more energy. Though, because it uses fire as well, my flames will be less effective against it. I hear Lucy call out Loke as I use a fire dragon iron fist to punch the wyvern in the snout. Loke immediately comes to help me weaken the wyvern and distract it from seeing Lucy. We both know that wyverns usually go after the weaker opponents first. This fuels my fire to a new heat and I see my flames turning from red to blue. This is the hottest I have ever made my flames and I love that I am getting stronger so I can protect Lucy.

"Natsu!" I hear Lucy call my name and realize that I have been zoning out just as the wyvern's tail hits me in the chest. I'm knocked against a rock and have feel my breath leave me. I'm dazed and Lucy rushes over to help me while Loke tries to distract it so it stays away from Lucy.

"Natsu, you need to pay more attention. Anyway, I was wondering if I could call out Draco to see his moves and how powerful he is. I'm positive that a dragon could easily take on a wyvern, aren't you? I look at Lucy and smile. I want to see Draco in action, too.

"Go for it Luce! I'm excited to see Draco in action." Lucy smiles and sends Loke back while calling out to Draco. I'm wondering why she doesn't do her usual incantation but then I remember that once a contract is made with a platinum key, the spirit can come through worlds with its own magic, so its wizard doesn't lose magic.

"You called Lucy?" Draco appears in a golden flash and I am still awed at his presence. To think that Lucy was this powerful and can summon a dragon.

"Yes Draco, can you please take care of this wyvern without destroying the city? I want to see how powerful you are and I think this is a good situation to evaluate your strengths and see when I should call you out."

"Of course Lucy. I will take care of this pitiful cousin." Draco then does a breath attack, which he called Star Dragon Roar, and the wyvern took the hit head on. Once the light dies down, the wyvern is still standing, but barely. Draco does a wing attack, followed by a claw and the wyvern is on its last legs. Draco uses his finishing move, the Celestial Dragon secret art, Star Explosion, and the wyvern is dead.

"Thank you Draco, I now know how strong you are and how amazing your moves are. I will call on you when the enemy shows no sign of falling. Thank you for helping!" Lucy closes the gate and we go to Harrold to collect the reward. On our way there I bring up the conversation we were having before the wyvern attacked.

"So Luce, as I was saying, I've been meaning to tell you something. Something important. See, for a while now I've been feeling different around you. Ever since the future Lucy's death, I've thought of nothing besides you and your safety. I still can't believe that I trusted him so completely. The trust I have towards other people that we just met is the reason you died. And I know it wasn't you, but it was a version of you and I can't let that slide. Ever since I saw your body lying dead on the ground, I can't help but think that I never got to tell you what you mean to me. I won't let that happen again so if this ruins our friendship then so be it, but I refuse to keep this secret any longer. Luce, I love you. As more than a nakama, I have for a while now and I know that you're my mate. I'd love for you to love me back, but I highly doubt you do. I just thought you had a right to know. So there it is, I love you Luce." She just looked at me, frozen in place, then a giant smile appears on her face and she says five words that have my head spinning.

"I love you too, Natsu!" I don't know if I dreaming, but right now I don't care. Lucy loves me!

"Natsu, I have loved you for a long time. Ever since I realized that the future me had to live without you. I didn't ever realize that she lived without the guild. The only thing that was in my mind was the thought of living without you. I couldn't handle it. It was then that I decided to become stronger and I will. Natsu I love you so much but I can't become your mate until I am stronger. I'm planning on going on a journey by myself to become stronger. It won't be a long journey, just a few months or so. Please say you'll wait for me?" I look at her and smile. I will miss her while she's training, but I know she'll be back. She will come back to me.

"Luce, I'll miss you but I will wait for you forever. I also have a surprise for you so let's go to my house before we go back to the guild. Okay?"

"Okay, Natsu." We head back to Magnolia and I pass out on the train. Once Luce wakes me up we start towards my house and I can barely contain the happiness I have because Lucy loves me back. Once my house is in view, I hear Lucy gasp. I do too because it looks amazing. I look at Lucy then wave her inside and this is when I see her smile her beautiful smile that lights up the sky.

"I had Mira and some other guys build an extension on my house. I also had them bring your stuff over. This isn't Happy and I's house anymore. It's yours as well. I had them add another bedroom, a study for you to write in, a library for all of your books, and a giant bathroom with a walk in closet and a huge tub for you to relax in. They didn't go through your stuff because they don't want an angry dragon on their hands. So, do you like it?" I look at Lucy and she's crying.

"Shit Luce, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'll take all of your stuff back and you can forget this ever—" I was cut off by a pressure against my lips. Lucy is kissing me! I close my eyes and sink into the kiss, happier than I've ever been.

"Natsu, I love it. Thank you so much for doing all of this. These aren't tears of sadness, they're tears of joy. I get to live with the guy I love. Nothing could make me happier. I love you." She kisses me again and I decide that I can get used to kisses. As long as they're only from Lucy. We walk hand in hand to the guild where I plan to let everyone know that Lucy is mine, and only mine. Dragons are territorial and if anyone gets close to their mate, there will be hell to pay.

"Hey mina! We're back!" Everyone looks up and smiles at the sight of us holding hands. Mira squeals and passes out mumbling something about Nalu babies. Grey smirks and says,

"About time you tell her Natsu. You've been putting it off for weeks!" I smile, Grey is really a good guy.

"How was the mission with Juvia? Where's Happy? I need to tell him that we have another member of our family." Luce looks at me and gives me a smile that I've never seen before from her. I've always thought that I have seen every one of her facial expressions but this one is something else entirely. It is a secretive smile, one that I doubt anyone has ever seen before. And she is aiming it towards me. Again, I feel like the luckiest guy in both Earthland and Edolas. How did I get Lucy to fall in love with me? Me falling for her was a given. Even if I didn't realize that I loved her until her body was lying in front of me, I do now and I've also realized that I have loved her for a long time. She has always been there for me and I don't know how I have ever liver without her.

"Happy went to Wendy's to hang out with Carla and the mission went well. Though Juvia didn't touch me at all. Actually, she was hanging out with another guy most of the time. I don't know what to do." I look at Gray, Juvia wasn't hanging all over him? That's weird, Luce says that Juvia really likes Gray, so I have no idea why she was all over a different guy. Unless….

"Gray, do you think that she was giving you the cold shoulder to show you what you're missing out on? She probably wants to make you jealous and judging by your reaction, you are very jealous. I'm sure that if you show her some affection, she'll go back to following your every move. Literally." Gray looked at me with a thoughtful expression.

"Natsu, you're a lot smarter than you let on. I can see how you got Lucy to go out with you. Oh! Speaking off which, congrats! I told ya that she likes you." Well, he is right, a while back when I told Gray that I liked Lucy as more than nakama, he helped me out by telling me that Luce liked me too.

Flashback

"Gray! I need help. I really like Lucy, as more than nakama. I don't know if I should tell her or if I should just let her mate with someone better than me. I mean, dragons only have one mate in their life and I'm positive Luce is mine. But I don't want her to be trapped and tied down. She deserves the best and I know that I'm not the best."

"Natsu, you have got to tell her. For one thing, Lucy likes you as more than nakama, too. I'm sure the reason she never told you was because she never thought you'd never like anyone except Lisanna as a potential mate. Secondly, you are perfect for her and I doubt she would think that she was being tied down. She really loves you and I'm sure her perfect happy ending is with you. As for not deserving her, that's just a load of bull. You are the one who always saves her, the one who cheers her up when she's sad, the one who would go through hell and back just to see a smile on her face. If that doesn't make you deserve her then I don't know what will."

Present time

"Yea, thanks for that man. If you wouldn't have had told me that she liked me too, I wouldn't have told her about my feelings. You were right, she loves me and said that she'd be happy to be my mate… but, she wants to go on a journey… Alone. She wants to become stronger, to be worthy of my mate. She thinks she doesn't deserve me."

"That's ridiculous man. Lucy is plenty strong and she definitely deserves you. She makes you happy. Isn't that enough?" I look at him and then I remember that she wants to hold open the gate between the dragon realm and ours.

"Lucy! We gotta show them your new key and tell them what he said about your mom!"

"Oh yea" Lucy says, "Guys this is my new family member, Draco, can you please come out and meet my family?" Draco appears in a golden flash and once he is visible, the entire guild is quiet.

"Hey guys, this is my new key. His name is Draco and his constellation is Draco the Dragon. Draco, this is my guild, Fairy Tail."

"Hello Lucy's family. It is nice to meet you." Everyone looked at him then there was a collective gasp. I just grin, Lucy I very strong and I know that she will be the best mate ever. I know Igneel would approve.

"Okay, thanks a lot Draco, I'll be talking to you very soon." With that, Draco disappeared in a flash. "With that, dragon slayers, please come forward." Wendy, Laxus, and Gajeel came up to the front right next to Lucy.

"I found out what happened to the dragons all those years ago and I can fix it if you would like me to." Everyone gasped and I'm pretty sure Wendy squealed.

"Lucy, what do you mean? You know where they went? Do you know how to get them back? Please, I miss Grandine and I want to see her again." I glare at her, I don't mean to but I can't help it. She doesn't know what would happen to Lucy if she brings them back but just hearing someone openly say that she wants my mate to do something that will end up killing her puts me on edge.

"Wendy, you don't know it all. If Lucy helps bring back the dragons, she will essentially be killing herself. She would have to hold open a gate for the dragons to come through and it would continuously drain her magical energy until she dies. I, for one, don't want her to do it. I've lived without Igneel for years now, I can live without him forever. I guess the one thing you should think of is, do you want Lucy, out nakama, to kill herself for you to see your dragon until she dies?" Lucy looks at me and I smile at her. I really would die if she did.

"Natsu, thanks but I have a solution. I can hold the gate open for intervals of time, so you guys can see your parents, but I won't be using my magic constantly. I know Draco has the key hidden somewhere and I know I can find it. That reminds me! Before I open the gate for you guys, I'm going on a journey so I can train. I want to become stronger and I know just how to do it. If you guys don't mind, can you wait a few months before I open the gate? I promise I will open it once I get stronger so you guys can see your parents again. You just have to wait a little longer." I should've known that Lucy would think of a solution. I just hope she doesn't overdo it.

"Lucy, I didn't realize that you'd be under such strain and the fact that you want to do this for us, well, I'll never be able to repay you. Thank you for offering but I don't want you to die so please don't open the gate a lot. I couldn't handle it if you died and I know Natsu would be far worse. Oh! Congratulations on finally getting together! You two have been oblivious forever now." Wendy smiled and I looked a Lucy. She was blushing but looked so happy that I immediately feel happy myself.

"Okay Wendy. But, right now I want to go train and I promise I will be back in a few months. I'll see you guys soon! Come on Natsu, help me pack for my trip. See you guys!" Luce and I walk to our house and I start to feel worried. What if something happens to my mate while she's training? What if she is ambushed and I'm not there to save her? I start having a panic attack and then I feel warmth on my hand. I look down and Lucy's hand I holding mine.

"Thanks Luce." She just smiles and I think again of how lucky I am to have my best friend be my mate. She knows what I'm feeling and thinking even more than I do. She could tell what I was thinking and she acted accordingly.

"Hey Natsu? Please promise me that you'll let me do this on my own. I can't tell you exactly what I'm planning because it might not work but I can promise you that I won't be going around all of Earthland looking for danger. I will most likely be in a forest or something like that. And please try your best to not worry about me. Go on missions with Happy and get Grey and Juvia together. They really like each other. I promise, I will return." I look at her and sigh.

"Okay Luce, I promise I'll try to do all of those things but no way can I promise that if you're hurt I won't come. Okay? Oh, you forgot your toothbrush. Why don't you go through the house and make sure that you got everything. And be sure to get paper so you can write to me." She leaves and I try to call Draco. As a dragon, he should understand the concept of mates and I trust him to keep mine safe.

"Draco, will you please come out here?" He appears which makes me happy.

"What is it you want Natsu? Is Lucy okay?"

"She is going on a journey and I wanted to ask you, as a dragon, please keep my mate safe. She is everything to me and if something happened to her I'd die. Please, keep her safe." He looks at me and smiles.

"Of course I will protect your mate young dragon. She is my master and the only one who has been able to call me forward in a century. She is strong, and I know that you know that. But, to keep your mind at ease, I will protect her with my life."

"Thank you Draco. I am already feeling better with her leaving my sight." With that, he leaves and I feel at ease. As a dragon, Draco understands the importance of a mate and I know he will keep mine safe.

"I got everything Natsu. I'm ready to head out. I'm gonna walk there. It will help keep me in shape and since I won't be taking missions on, I won't have the money to take trains everywhere. I'll miss you so much, but I hope you understand that I have to do this. Walk me to the forest?" I nod and we walk together, holding hands. Once we get to the edge of the forest, she looks at me and I lean down slowly, giving her time to pull away. She surprised me by closing the space between our lips and kisses me. This kiss is far less sweet than the first we shared. This one is an unspoken promise and we are proving to each other that we love one another. When she pulls away, her face is flushed and her eyes are dark. I'm positive mine are dark too.

"I'll see you soon, Natsu. I love you." I respond with, "I love you too" and then she walks away. I stand there until I can't smell her anymore. I walk back to our house and ready myself for three months' worth of not seeing her.

THREE MONTHS LATER

It's been three months since Lucy went on her journey. Three months of not seeing her but receiving multiple letters. Since she left, I've become stronger and I did finally get Grey and Juvia together.

Flashback

"Grey, if you want Juvia to come back to you, then tell her that you love her. Yes, I know you do because you've been sulking ever since you found out that she was dating another dude. Come on man, I told Luce and look where it got me. She agreed to be my mate and will be home, stronger than before. Just tell Juvia how you feel. I'm sure she feels the same way.

"You're right, Natsu. I've been sulking and I haven't done anything about it. I'm going to tell her now." With that, I watch him go over to Juvia and get down on one knee and tell Juvia that he loves her. I hear a squeal and see Juvia fling herself at Grey. Finally.

End of Flashback

I'm sitting in the guild when a familiar smell hits my nose. I freeze and look at the guild door, waiting. The door is flung open and standing there is my Lucy. I run towards her and scoop her up in a giant hug and start crying. I don't care who sees me, I finally see my Luce and she is safe.

"Lucy, I've missed you so much. I did what you wanted me to. I got Grey and Juvia together and I went on missions with Happy and I didn't come after you. Please never leave again. I can't handle not seeing you anymore and I would become depressed without you here." Lucy looks at me and smiles.

"Of course Natsu and I missed you too. Now, let me show you all what I've been doing. Grey, I challenge you to a battle. You can't hold back and I sure won't." Everyone looks shocked but I just smile. I'm sure she can handle herself.

"Okay Lucy, just telling you that I've become stronger since you last saw me. I won't hold back." With that, we went outside the guild and surrounded Lucy and Grey. I give Lucy a quick hug and then go to where everyone else is. I can't wait to see this battle, I know Lucy is going to be amazing.

"You start off Grey, I wanna let you get one punch in before you lose." Grey smirks and uses his Ice Make Lance against her. Lucy doesn't move a muscle. She's waiting for something, I can tell. I'm just not sure what she's waiting for. I watch as the ice travels closer and closer to my mate and I start to tense up. Just as I was about to spring in to take the hit, Lucy disappeared and the reappeared behind Grey. She is so fast now!

"It's gonna take more than that Grey. I have also become stronger and it would be bad judgement for you to use one of your weakest attacks on me." I smile as Lucy keeps taunting Grey. Just as she is about to yell another insult, Grey had had enough and yelled, "Ice Bringer" which is one of his strongest attacks. Lucy just smiled and called out Aries who used a wool bomb to stop the attack.

"That's more like it Grey, you're finally seeing me as an opponent. Now, how many should I call? Natsu, what is your favorite number between 1 and 12?" I think about it then decided to go with the biggest one, "12."

"Okay, thanks love! I call forward all of the Zodiac Spirits, come to by side my friends!" And with that, a massive golden light appeared and I felt a giant surge of magical power. Once the light died down I saw not one, not two, but all twelve zodiac spirits standing by Lucy. Everyone gasped. This should be impossible, she can call all of her spirits out at once and still be standing? Her power has grown immensely and I am so proud of her.

"Olay guys, lets go a little easy on him, I still haven't shown my newest magic. Thanks!" Grey looked confused and then shook his head and attacked Loke, probably because he was the strongest of the Zodiacs. This plan didn't turn out too well because he jumped away, leaving Taurus in his place. Taurus swung his ax and just barely missed Grey, who had dogged at the last second. This went on for five minutes before Lucy sent them all back. My guess is that she wanted to wear Grey out before she used her new magic, but if that was the case, she shouldn't have used so much magical energy.

"Wow Lucy, you really have become stronger, but I still have all of my magical energy, you don't" Shit, Grey is right, while the spirits were battling, Grey didn't use and magical attacks. I hope Lucy has everything under control.

"You're right Grey, but you also forget that I have Draco who can use his own magic to get here. Though, I won't use him because that would be completely unfair. Now, in regards to my magical energy, can't you feel that even after calling all of the forward, I have plenty to take you out." I sense what she's talking about. Her magic energy level is insane. I guess she was expanding that as well as learning new magic and becoming physically stronger.

"Now, here's my new magic, Grey, go ahead and give me one of your most powerful moves." Grey uses his seven blade dance and heads towards Lucy. She just stands there again, waiting. Then she yells,

"Star Dragon Roar!" and a beam of star dust hits Grey in the chest while he was open. I can tell this wasn't her full power because if it was, Grey would have been shredded. As of right now, he's knocked out. Everyone cheers and I run up to Lucy and give her a huge kiss.

"Luce, that was amazing! Did Draco teach you Dragon Slayer Magic? I'm so proud of you." Lucy smiles and just stands there as the questions keep coming. I notice Grey wake up and he smiles. He's probably proud of Luce, too.

"Hey Luce, can you bring out Draco? I wanna tell him thanks for protecting you. He's the only reason I didn't come after you."

"Of course Natsu. Draco, Natsu wants a word. Will you please come out, and bring the surprise." What surprise? I just wanted to tell him thanks. I wait for Draco to appear and to find out what the surprise is. A brilliant, golden flash appears and Draco is standing in the middle of the field.

"Draco, thank you for watching after my mate. It means a lot to me that you protected her and taught her your magic. Thank you again. Now what is this surprise Lucy?"

"Okay, everyone, throughout these past few months, Draco and I have been working on the Dragon Realm Key and I have figured out a way for the gate to remain open without draining me of my power. It will drain the dragon's power, but Draco assures me that I won't affect them very much. It will take a lot of magical energy for me to open the gate at all, but once it is open, it will stay open forever. I'd like to do that now if it's okay with you guys. I know both the dragons and the dragon slayers have missed each other greatly." I look at Luce and smile. I get Lucy and Igneel back on the same day? And the gate being open won't affect Lucy or her life span? And I also got to see my mate beat up Grey? This is the best day ever!

"Go for it Luce, I can't wait to see Igneel." She looks at me and smiles the secret smile that I saw three months ago.

"Draco, give me the key and please help me with the magic energy if I need it. I want to try to open it myself, but if it seems like I'm going to pass out, supply me the energy. Thanks!" She steps into the middle of the field, next to Draco, and yells to the heavens,

"Oh, key of the thieves, grant me access to the Dragon Realm. Steal a portal to the land many have forsaken and bring the dragons who call Earthland home to me. Open, gate of the thieves, Vulpecula!" A massive magic circle appears under Lucy as she lets off massive amounts of magical energy. She is struggling and I feel guilty because it's my fault. But I know that Lucy wanted to do this, not only for me, but for the rest of us. Just as Draco readied his own magic to send to Lucy, a portal opened and through it came the dragon I've been waiting to see.

"Igneel." I run towards him and give him a huge hug. He is just like I remember, a glowing red and huge scales that are tougher than steel.

"Igneel, I've missed you."

"And, I've missed you, Natsu. Now, who opened the portal and freed us from the cursed land?"

"Dad, my mate, Lucy did. She is Layla's daughter and a new dragon slayer. Draco is he dragon and she is extremely powerful and smart. She found a way for you guys to stay here without her continuously giving magic. Though, it does drain some of yours. I doubt you ever noticed though. She's over here. I want you to meet her."

"Of course my son, and let me say, I'm glad you've found your mate. Now, let me meet her." And with that, Igneel and I walk towards Lucy, who looks exhausted. We see the other dragon slayers reuniting with their parents and I feel proud, yet again, of my Lucy.

Dad, Lucy helped everyone and opened the gate all by herself right after a match with Grey. She didn't need Draco's help to open the gate and she called all of the 12 spirits out before the fight had really begun. She is super powerful." I love Lucy with all of my heart. We finally reach Lucy just as she sent Draco back to the spirit world.

"Hey Luce, this is my dad, Igneel. Dad, this is my mate, Lucy." Lucy looks up and smiles towards me then towards Igneel.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Igneel. Natsu has told me much about you and I am glad I could help him find you."

"No Lucy, it is my pleasure to meet you. I have much to thank you for. You helped my son through a rough time and also brought all of us dragons back to Earthland, where we belong. You opened the gate by yourself and from what Natsu told me, you fought a powerful opponent first. You are powerful and I am glad to call you my daughter." Luce and I grinned, my Dad accepted my mate and she promised to never leave. Today is officially the best day ever.

"Okay, Natsu, I'm exhausted so I'm going to head home. I'll see you after you catch up with Igneel. I love you."

"I love you too Luce, please be careful. See you soon." I watch her walk away and sigh happily. The rest of the day was spent catching up with Igneel. I told him about how I brought Lucy to Fairy Tail, how she helps my motion sickness, how I saved her from Phantom Lord, how she refused to leave my side and almost died during the S-Class trials. How I saved her rom the infinity clock and how she battled with strength at the Grand Magic Games. How Future her saved everyone in the guild from an awful fate and how I watch her die in front of me. After the sun had set, Igneel and I went different ways, promising to see each other tomorrow. I think he wants to see the world and how it has changed in the past 15 years. I head home to Lucy, Happy agreed to stay at Wendy's so I could have some alone time with her.

"Luce? I'm home." I see her immediately and I can tell she knows what I want. She is in her underwear and has candles all around. I can't believe that I got everything I've always wanted.

"Hey Luce, before we being, I just wanted to say thank you. And… I love you."